{"id":11045,"date":"2023-05-01T09:36:56","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T13:36:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=11045"},"modified":"2023-05-01T09:37:22","modified_gmt":"2023-05-01T13:37:22","slug":"toy-finalist-stacey-bellissimo-business-leadership-teacher-cox-high-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/toy-finalist-stacey-bellissimo-business-leadership-teacher-cox-high-school\/","title":{"rendered":"TOY finalist: Stacey Bellissimo, business\/leadership teacher, Cox High School"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This article is part of a series of profiles about each finalist for Virginia Beach City Public Schools\u2019 2024 Citywide Teacher of the Year. <\/em><\/p>\n

Teaching is more than a calling, it’s a way of life for Stacey Bellissimo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a part of a person’s soul and it’s only fulfilled when it is shared with others,\u201d said the business\/marketing teacher at Cox High School, who was also a finalist for citywide teacher of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeaching is being there for students and communities who need guidance and support,\u201d she said. \u201cTeaching is so much more than what happens in a classroom. Teaching is about the legacy you create by helping your students grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you ask Cox students who their favorite teacher has been, it\u2019s a good bet they\u2019ll say Ms. Bellissimo, according to Whitney Szoke, assistant principal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is magic that forms between Stacey and her students and it is simply amazing to witness and to work alongside of her,\u201d Szoke said.<\/p>\n

Bellissimo is the DECA co-coordinator and department chair for the business\/marketing department, along with participating in the Cox High School Mentor\/Training Program. She\u2019s also involved with programs like Beach Girls Rock, the Boo Bash at Cox, the CHKD Love Run and the Holiday Project of the Department of Social Services.<\/p>\n

As Cox\u2019s sports marketing teacher, she works with several teams and clubs to help promote their activities. During the summer, she coordinates Cox Camps, where various groups raise money for student programs.<\/p>\n

When she was the school\u2019s varsity softball coach, Bellissimo helped athletes on and off the field, according to Jessica Bowman, Cox\u2019s student activities director.<\/p>\n

\u201cI specifically remember two softball players who struggled with their academics and their decision-making during their down time,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cStacey worked tirelessly to help both these young ladies not only excel academically, but thrive as students-athletes at Cox.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bellissimo\u2019s leadership class is one of the most popular electives Cox offers, with frequent waiting lists for students, according to Dr. Michael Kelly, school principal.<\/p>\n

\u201cStacey works hard to develop strong relationships with every student in her classes, creating lifelong relationships that cause many past students to regularly return to school to see her,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cShe achieves this by having an inclusive classroom environment, where everyone feels they have a home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is part of a series of profiles about each finalist for Virginia Beach City Public Schools\u2019 2024 Citywide Teacher of the Year. Teaching is more than a calling, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":11047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11045"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11049,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11045\/revisions\/11049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}